Delicious Chai tea latte

I thought I would share one of Ryan and my favorite fall recipes, homemade chai tea latte.  Really it is good anytime, but I think it tastes like fall.  Ryan found the recipe online somewhere several years ago, but sadly I don't have the original link.
This recipe actually makes a chai concentrate that is meant to be mixed with milk to make the latte.  I have seen several recipes online that are very similar to this one.   It is super yummy and simple, so let's get started!

You will need the following ingredients:

                4 1/2 cups water
                1 stick of cinnamon
                1-3 inch piece of fresh ginger
                7 whole cardamom pods
                2 whole anise pods
                10 whole cloves
                1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
                1 teaspoon orange zest (we don't usually add this)
                10 bags of black tea
                1/2 cup brown sugar
                1 tablespoon honey
                1 tablespoon vanilla

First count out all of your spices.  In the past, we have found most of our spices at World Market, for a reasonably good price. Where we live now, there isn't a World Market close by, so we have also picked up spices at various specialty stores and grocery stores.

In case you don't know what the spices look like, I have taken a lovely picture for you.  From the top center: cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and anise pods or stars.

Next up you will need to prepare the ginger by removing all of the skin.  The easiest way to remove the skin is to use the edge of a spoon.  It comes off really easy, just make sure not to push too hard, otherwise you will start to remove the good yellow inside with the skin.  Once that is done, chop it up into tiny pieces.  The more ginger you add the spicier the concentrate will be. But I'll warn you a little goes a long way.  Also, the fresher the ginger, the better it tastes

Bring your 4 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Once the water is boiling add all of the spices, ginger and tea bags into the pot.  Turn off the heat and let the ingredients steep for about 15 minutes.  The longer you steep the ingredients the stronger the concentrate will be.

Once steeped, strain the concentrate to remove all of the pieces of  the spices and ginger.  Your concentrate should be a dark brown color.  Now add the sugar, honey and vanilla, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

Once the concentrate is cooled you can add the milk.  Ryan and I like to mix all of the concentrate with milk into a big pitcher right away, so the latte is ready whenever we want it.  If you would rather not do that, you can just add the concentrate milk whenever you want a glass.  Use a 1:1 ratio of chai and milk, whether it is for a glass or a pitcher.  Or play around with the ratios and see what you like best.  One recipe makes about 8-10 servings, depending on how much milk you add.

In honor of the first snow, it seemed like a good day to take pictures outside.  You can drink the latte hot or cold.  Personally, I prefer my chai latte cold, but I know Ryan prefers it to be hot, it is delicious either way. I hope you enjoy it!